While state-of-the-art apartment blocks attract young professionals and cashed-up overseas investors, new developments around Waterloo and Zetland are managing a precarious balance between "close to everything" and "far from it all" that is proving irresistible to young families.

"Waterloo is the ultimate box-ticker for a young family," says local mum Janice Howe. Mum-of-two Bin Zhou agrees, saying she feels spoilt for choice with parks and indoor play centres in and near Waterloo.

"We love this area - it really is 10 minutes from everywhere," she says. "There's a real community of mums here and new cafes and restaurants are popping up everywhere. It's very alive. Not like in many other suburbs where families live, where after 5 pm you see hardly anybody walking about."

Bin Zhou regularly takes her kids to the city's museums: "It costs $2.50 on the bus, and if we want to go to the beach, we can take a quick bus ride there too. We go to Centennial Park all the time to ride horses."

Zetland mum Megan Davis says close proximity to parks, entertainment and shopping centres means she rarely uses the car: "We spend more time outside and less time in traffic. We can walk to such a diverse range of places in the one area, which is really nice."

She adds: "Because I work in the city, being near to the CBD means more time at home and less time for Sam in day care. Being so close to public transport means day trips to the city are easy to manage with a toddler too!"

On foot, the options are endless thanks to big changes in the once heavily industrial area. Hip family-friendly venues such as the Saporium marketplace, a revived Rosebery warehouse brimming with greengrocers, butchers, bakers, coffee roasters and restaurateurs, The Grounds, with its own organic garden and chickens, and much-loved boutique restaurant Kepos & Co are all within walking distance, along with supermarkets, shopping centres and Green Square train station.

Meanwhile, the area's inner-city "grit" has been softened somewhat as developers each add their own version of the "haven" model usually reserved for the outer suburbs. Pedestrian-only squares surrounded by palm trees, water features and al fresco dining options paint the picture of a sprawling resort, just far enough away from the Eastern Distributor to retain a sense of peace.

"On the one hand it's a stone's throw from the city, and on the other it feels a bit like a holiday town," says Howe, and the latest wow-factor development to hit the area is taking this concept to a new level.

Waterfall is Crown Group's ambitious new development being built on O'Dea Avenue and its design displays an innovative use of green space within an urban context. Due to open in 2020 and named after its star feature - Australia's largest man-made waterfall - the development will comprise three towers of eight storeys and a 20-storey signature tower, which together will house 331 apartments.

Designed by renowned Sydney-based architects SJB, the buildings will be connected by long open-air walkways and bridges, all overlooking tropical flora and water gardens.

"We've taken the idea of the urban resort and escalated that," explains Crown Group's global head of sales and marketing, Julian Sedgwick. "We like to be part of the new up-and-coming areas and Waterloo is a particularly young and vibrant one. It's quite amazing what's going on there."

Far from intimidating young families with its high-end hallmarks, the "urban resort" will only add to the area's family appeal, says Sedgwick.

"One of the fundamental things we want to do is build a community," he continues, "rather than it be a place where people walk in the door of their apartment and lock it behind them."

While the complex boasts a degree of exclusivity, Crown Group's commitment to build a new public park adjacent to the site gives those living in neighbouring apartments something to look forward to.

"The parks here often have lots of people from the area," says Davis, "so it's easy to make new friends that way. The support my mum friends here provide is invaluable when you're having a tough day with your toddler."

Skip to 2020 and the area's boundary-pushing Waterfall intends to be right at the centre of this bustling community - and its residents can choose to take or leave it.